Tsiknopempti is a Greek pre-lent celebration where you feast on barbecue meat! Literally meaning Smelly Thursday, or even Charred, Smoky, or Barbeque Thursday because of the smell of the grilled meat in the air. This is part of the traditional celebrations for Carnival season in Greece and Cyprus.

Out the front of our restaurant, all around the Nostimo sign is a herb garden. Mixed in with other greenery so you may not notice unless you’re looking there is an abundance of herbs.

We’re home to Greek basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cherry tomatoes, creeping thyme and creeping rosemary. And they’re most definitely not here just for decoration. Our chefs use these herbs in various dishes. They have recently been using a lot of our Greek basil as it’s been growing out of control. Greek basil is a great herb that will survive when it’s a little cooler but thrives in the warm weather that Queensland provides.

It took a while for these herbs to grow to the point they’re at now, but Spring made this garden really flourish. Thank you to Greater Brisbane Gardens for keeping our garden beautiful and thriving.

You know it’s going to be a fantastic summer when the menu boasts DRUNKEN GREEK PRAWNS! Chef in Residence at Nostimo Restaurant & Bar at West End, the acclaimed flavour-maker David Tsirekas, has added this brilliantly named dish to a menu that celebrates classic Greek dishes in a thoroughly modern way.

And that’s not the only new addition – he has also once again called on his love of Greek literary texts and introduced the Tselementes Mousaka 1910, based on the original 1910 recipe of braised lamb, potato gratin, eggplant and bechamel layers.

“This dish is inspired by Nikolaos Tselemetes, a 20th century revered Greek chef who became famous for combining Greek and French cuisine – he was responsible for showing Greeks how to prepare béchamel sauces, pirozhkies, bouillabaisse sauce and to add vinaigrette to dishes. To this day, Tselementes remains synonymous with Greek cookbooks, and his recipes are passed on from generation to generation,” said Chef Tsirekas.

Under the culinary eye of Chef Tsirekas, the lamb forequarter is braised in a seasoned lamb rub of tomato paste, olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, zest and juice of oranges before adding chopped onions, bay leaves, cinnamon and a bunch of thyme. The bechamel sauce is poured on top of layers of potato, eggplant and lamb, with the dish served with a cos lettuce, apple and yoghurt salad.

But back to theDrunken Greek Prawns… Chef Tsirekas serves them marinated in Metaxa Brandy, lime and coconut milk, then deep fried with a light rice flour batter and served with a mango, mint, golden pepper relish and tarama. Heaven? Absolutely!

“My dishes focus on tradition while still being contemporary and fun, and hero everything that is celebrated about Greek cuisine: produce, quality, seasonality and freshness,” says David.